Applicator brush

ABSTRACT

A brush for applying hair treatment liquid, such as coloring, to a person&#39;s hair and for preparing the hair beforehand comprising an elongated, thin, flat brush body carrying a wide array of bristles at one end and an elongated narrow pick at the opposite end which is a longitudinal extension of the brush body.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] This invention relates to a brush for applying hair treatment liquid, such as coloring, to a person's hair and for preparing the hair beforehand.

[0003] 2. Prior Art

[0004] Various hair brushes have been proposed heretofore for specialized purposes, such as teasing or backcombing the hair (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,109,273 to Schleicher), and drying and curling the hair (e.g., Baudoin U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,307). In addition, various brushes for applying hair treatment liquid, such as coloring, to a person's hair have been proposed that have different specialized constructions requiring the beautician to learn and use corresponding special manipulative techniques (e.g., Wong U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,695, Foti U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,637, Mourad U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,537, and Colon et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,648).

[0005] However, the most widely used brush for applying hair coloring or other treatment liquid and preparing the hair for such treatment is as shown in FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings. This brush has a body of elongated configuration and is thin between its flat opposite major faces, presenting a relatively wide head 3 connected integrally to an elongated handle 4 by a curved neck 5, which is of progressively narrower width away from the head and toward the handle. The handle 4 blends smoothly with the curved neck 5 and narrows progressively along its length away from the neck, terminating in a narrow rounded tip 6 at one end of the brush. At the opposite end of the brush the head 3 carries a wide array of flexible and resilient bristles 7 that is a longitudinal extension of the brush body itself In the thickness direction (perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1) the bristles 7 are located completely between the opposite major faces of the brush body.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The present invention is directed to a novel applicator brush for use by a beautician to prepare a person's hair for the application of hair treatment liquid, such as coloring, and to apply the treatment liquid to the hair, using the same manipulative techniques as now used with the conventional applicator brush shown in FIG. 1 but with greater effectiveness and consequently greater ease of use to achieve the desired results.

[0007] In the present invention the brush handle is substantially shorter than the handle of the conventional brush of FIG. 1 but in combination with the curved neck connecting it to the brush head it is long enough to be held conveniently by the beautician. An elongated, narrow, smooth, rod-like pick extends longitudinally from the handle and provides an easily used, more effective device than the tapered handle 4 of the FIG. 1 brush to partition the hair along a well-defined line and to weave and slice the hair and position it on the usual foil just before the hair treatment liquid is applied to it by the bristles on the opposite end of the applicator brush.

[0008] A principal object of this invention is to provide a novel applicator brush for applying hair treatment liquid, after preparing the hair for such treatment, which is more effective than the standard applicator brush shown in FIG. 1 and does not require the beautician to learn manipulative techniques different from those used with the standard brush.

[0009] Further aspects of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of a presently preferred embodiment thereof, illustrated in FIG. 2 of the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010]FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a prior art device which is the standard brush commonly used for the same purposes as the present invention; and

[0011]FIG. 2 is an elevation of the novel applicator brush according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Before explaining the present invention in detail it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the particular arrangement shown and described herein since the invention is capable of other embodiments. Also, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

[0013] Referring to FIG. 2, elements of the present applicator brush which correspond to those of the FIG. 1 prior art brush are given the same reference numerals plus 100. The bristles 107 and the head 103 and curved neck 105 of the FIG. 2 brush body are identical to the corresponding elements of the FIG. 1 brush, so the detailed description of these elements will not be repeated. As in the FIG. 1 brush, the brush body of FIG. 2 is thin between its flat opposite major faces, and the bristles 107 are arranged in a wide array extending across almost the full width of the head 103 and located between the respective planes of the opposite major faces of the brush body.

[0014] The handle 104 of the present brush (FIG. 2) is substantially shorter than the handle 4 of the prior art brush (FIG. 1) but together with the curved neck 105 it is long enough for the beautician to hold the brush body during all the manipulative steps she or he performs to prepare a person's hair for the application of the hair treatment liquid and for applying the liquid to the hair.

[0015] In accordance with the present invention, a narrow, elongated, smooth, substantially rigid pick 10 is joined to the end of the handle 104 away from the neck 105 that connects it to the head 103 of the brush body. The pick has the same small diameter along its length and preferably is of solid cylindrical cross-section. The pick preferably is of suitable metal and it extends longitudinally away from handle 104 as a much narrower longitudinal continuation or extension of the handle which can more readily penetrate the person's hair to the scalp without interference from the hair. The pick terminates in a rounded tip 11 that is narrow enough to provide more effective partitioning of the patron's hair, as well as to engage groups of hair strands for more effective weaving and slicing of the hair, than the tapered handle 4 of the prior art brush shown in FIG. 1.

[0016] The manipulative techniques the beautician uses with the present brush are the same as those involved in the use of the conventional applicator brush of FIG. 1, but the effectiveness of such techniques is greatly enhanced because of the narrower elongated shape and smoothness of the pick 10, as described. 

I claim:
 1. An applicator brush for applying hair treatment liquid to a person's hair comprising: a thin, elongated brush body having a wide head and a narrower handle extending away from said head at one end thereof, a plurality of bristles joined to said head at the opposite end thereof and arrayed across substantially the full width of said head, and a narrow elongated pick joined to said handle at the end of the latter away from said head and extending longitudinally away from said handle, said pick throughout its extent being substantially narrower than said handle and terminating in a rounded tip away from said handle for engaging the person's hair to form a partition in the hair and to engage groups of hair strands to weave and slice the hair in preparation for the application of hair treatment liquid thereto by said bristles.
 2. A brush according to claim 1, wherein said pick is of metal and is substantially rigid.
 3. A brush according to claim 1, wherein: said brush body has a curved neck connecting said head to said handle, said neck being progressively narrower away from said head to said handle, and said brush body has generally flat opposite major faces and is thin between said major faces; and said bristles are located between the planes of said opposite major faces.
 4. A brush according to claim 3, wherein said pick is of metal and is substantially rigid. 